ComradeKayAdams

I haven’t been following all this thread drama too closely, Muppy, but we do know the following facts: 1. 716er has been a victim of incessant cyberbullying from the far-right MAGA crowd here. 2. 716er last posted in Two Bills Drive on September 30, right here in this thread. He has been M.I.A. ever since that date. 3. Leh-Nerd still does not have an avatar or wallpaper for his Two Bills Drive account. Now I’m not necessarily insinuating that anything nefarious happened to 716er. What I most definitely AM suggesting, however, is that we make a movie to document the ordeal and that the movie should have great artistic discretion to incriminate Leh-Nerd. Gary Busey should be hired to play any one of the many far-right MAGA villains here in PPP. Nicholas Cage should play Leh-Nerd. Joanna Krupa will play everyone’s favorite PPP subforum protagonist, of course, even though Joanna’s West Slavic cheekbones aren’t quite as exquisite as mine. She’s also 5’8” in height or something close to that, so I will insist that she only wear flats on set. Actually, no, she needs to be wearing heels. So maybe all the other actors on set should be forced to either wear elevated shoes or to stand on discreet platforms?? Or maybe we can use very creative camera angles? Now every good movie also needs a good trailer, of course, so let’s hire Don LaFontaine to do the narration for the trailer if he’s still alive. The trailer should begin with the following voice-over: “In an online pro football subforum world…where cyberbullying and idiotic right-wing conspiracy-mongering reign supreme, only one morally ambivalent man can restore civility. A singular mystery man, replete with poor political acumen, completely devoid of avatar, is all that stands between hordes of low-E.Q. conservative bigots and the apparent emotional runt of the Two Bills Drive online leftist litter.” <<<< Camera focuses on the silhouette of a man, hunched over a table in a poorly lit room. >>> Leh-Nerd: “Aaaarggh! I’m just so conflicted. On the one hand, I really enjoy being a complete d-bag on the internet and making fun of communist libtards like 716er. But on the other hand, cyberbullying feels so wrong. What should I do?! What’s my character arc here?? UGH!” <<< Leh-Nerd slams his fist on the table, randomly tears off a ridiculously undersized white t-shirt, revealing a gross dad bod torso because…much to the surprise of absolutely NO ONE…he was too f*#ing lazy to follow Kay’s vegan dietary regimen over these past few years. >>> <<< A mystery woman walks into the room, flips on light switch. Mystery woman is wearing a white Bills beanie with the original AFL standing bison logo, a #27 Tre White jersey, Bills Zubaz yoga pants, and a ridiculously oversized “Go Bills!” foam finger. >>> Commie Kay: “Why was it so dark in here? Anyway, I couldn’t help but overhear your soliloquy. The answer should be obvious, if you had ever bothered to carefully read my dietary advice posts from the past few years. Compassion is supposed to be contagious, Leh-Nerd. Here…have an Impossible Burger. Oh by the way, have you seen 716er around lately?” <<< Kay walks over to Leh-Nerd and hands him an Impossible Burger. Faint rustling noises are heard in the distance. Camera turns and refocuses on a closed door in the corner of the room... >>> <<< END SCENE. >>> Thanks, Muppy! “Fleur D’Oranger 27,” a perfume bottle gift from Le Labo’s store here in NYC. I apply it every weekday morning. A most formidable scent! It stings the nostrils…in a good way.

You’re forgetting Siran Neal. The Bills like to activate 9 DB’s on gamedays, so Xavier Rhodes could see his first action of the year this Sunday against his former team. The full roster injury list currently sits at 11 players: QB Allen WR Crowder WR Stevenson T Doyle G Boettger DE Rousseau LB Edmunds S Hyde S Poyer CB White CB Elam As of Friday morning, I’d say that Allen, Edmunds, Poyer, White, and Elam still have chances of playing…however small those chances may be.

MUPPY!!! So good to see you in the politics subforum! How are you and yours?? My thoughts regarding the bolded: Yeah, I believe your assessment of Election Day is accurate. We probably have enough election results data and polling data by now to surmise that unmarried Gen Z/Millenial women are the singular demographic that limited the GOP, curbing that party’s success due to what I call their “constellation of creepiness:” extreme pro-life stances on abortion, MAGA election denialism, and general LGBTQ bigotry. As it turns out, there was indeed a red wave on Tuesday…a particular wave that only the world’s largest Playtex tampon could have halted. Yes, that was a gross metaphor. But I’m going to leave it here because, as you know, this is how Commie Kay rolls at Two Bills Drive : ) Speaking of curious metaphor choices…I am reminded of a quote from the great early 21st century philosopher and single ladies’ advocate, Beyonce, which I am paraphrasing in the future tense: “if you like it, then you should put a ring on it.” The “it” in this chosen context means the electoral votes of young single adult females, and “putting a ring on it” signifies the federal codification of Roe v. Wade (i.e. legal abortions up to the point of fetal viability). In other words, this week’s very modest electoral victories are also potentially very ephemeral. The Democratic Party has been using the abortion issue as a political football for far too long, taking advantage of our electoral power since the 1970’s. If Democrats want my increasingly intransigent voting bloc to continue coming out to vote for them in 2024 and beyond, then they need to be making earnest efforts to codify certain reproductive freedoms ASAP that really shouldn’t have ever been up for debate in the first place (a constitutional digression I won’t get into here…). And the same goes for all the other rights to privacy, under the Due Process Clause, that are in danger from our far-right Supreme Court and that desperately need federal codification: contraception, gay marriage, interracial marriage, etc… Court packing should remain on the table as a potent negotiating tool, too. Furthermore, young unmarried women tend to be among the most progressive voting demographics that you can possibly delineate. So moving forward, Democrats would be wise to steer their policy agenda leftward on big-ticket issues like social democratic economic populism, aggressive climate change remediation, non-imperialistic foreign policies, etc…ya know…the kinda things that excite the Commie Kays out there : ) …preferably using some currently unidentified American version of Brazil’s Lula as a political conduit…and in perhaps a physical form a la Joaquin Phoenix or Milo Ventimiglia… P.S. I love both your avatar and wallpaper selection! Very expressive and colorful. Quintessential MUPPINESS. There’s nothing worse in this topsy-turvy world of ours than Bills message board users without either, no? Without these, we’re all just a bunch of faceless posting zombies, utterly devoid of character. Electronic flotsam, if you will, floating amidst an endless sea of inane and excessively morose Buffalo Bills football discussion. Now I don’t like publicly calling out individuals here, so let’s just say that there’s a certain stubborn individual whom we both know (hint: his user name rhymes with Reh-nerd Rin-erd) who absolutely REFUSES to select any avatar or wallpaper whatsoever that might exhibit his wonderfully unique personality. Why? I think it’s just because he also happens to enjoy being a giant D!CK. That’s why. But I guess that’s Reh-nerd Rin-erd for ya. Not much to else to say on this matter, really. Ugh.

318!!! Wooo!!! I was hurdling what looked like Egyptian pyramids after 300, and I think I died by running into a folding table…or possibly a beach chair…not sure what, exactly…the whole screen was a rapidly moving blur of pixels by that point. Quite trippy, I must say, but highly enjoyable. I wrote a most delightful song this morning to commemorate my experience (the words in all caps are for the chorus…oh won’t you please sing along?!): This game makes me want to JUMP! Press my “up” button and JUMP! Strike it twice and high JUMP! Hold it down and long JUMP! Come on now, let Josh run endlessly now, Start it now, come on and jump! Yea-y-yeah, yea-y-yeah! SAY YOU’LL PLAY. Jump over random things, baby. SAY YOU’LL PLAY. Come on, come on! SAY YOU’LL PLAY. Come on and jump! SAY YOU’LL PLAY. Yeah-eah-eah! JUMP! Josh is running now. JUMP! He’s on the move now. JUMP! Josh is running now. JUMP! He’s hurdling flamingos now. JUMP! Kay’s got a high score. JUMP! A really high score, yeah. JUMP! She wants the highest score. JUMP! Just watch her break it now. Kay-ay-ay-ay! KAY-AY-AY-AY! Kay-ay-ay-ay! KAY-AY-AY-AY! Let’s go, Comrade Kay! LET’S GO, COMRADE KAY! Let’s go, Comrade Kay! LET’S GO, COMRADE KAY! This game makes me want to JUMP!

He achieved a high score in this game: https://www.joshallen-runner.com/

I, too, am wet right now. Not from my own urine, mind you, but rather from my own tears. The condescension and hatred displayed in your thread among Bills Mafia brethren is what saddens me so. The sober versus the inebriated. The affluent versus the destitute. The wizened versus the smooth-skinned. Whatever happened to the new 2022 mantra of “choose love” and “Buffalove” and what not?? Urine. Let’s talk about it. Webster’s Dictionary defines “urine” as “waste material that is secreted by the kidney in vertebrates.” But if you don’t care much for fancy books with fancy technical mumbo-jumbo, do at least know that the drunkards form the very backbone of Bills Mafia. I’m referring to the typical Zubaz pants soilers, rosacea-ridden pugilists, folding table smashers, tailgate parking lot fornicators, etc… whose peculiar antics have apparently distinguished our NFL fanbase from others. Our beloved Bills team - players and coaches alike - can hear these peculiar fans, see them, FEEL them (in the non-tactile sense of the word), and yes…even SMELL them from the sidelines at every game. “Oh, oh my…is that a waft of urine in the air?,” inquired you from your stadium seat. YES. Yes it was. That olfactory titillation that tickled your taut nose hairs was the special scent of loyalty, dedication, perseverance, love of Western New York community, and eternal hope for professional gridiron glory. Our Buffalo Bills football team knows this and draws great inspiration from this scent. Did or did not our hometown heroes get the proverbial “big dub” on Sunday night? Yes, and in no small part due to the urine-soaked apparel from those behavioral degenerates that are the subject of this thread. “What the f*&k are you rambling on about now, Kay?!,” you ever so churlishly inquire. “Why the f*&k would the team be inspired by urine smells?!,” you ever so curtly implore. Well…I’m trying to tell you if you’d simply calm down…because our Buffalo Bills football team knows that a slightly sweet stench of ammonia is the waste product of a FAN-ATIC, in every sense of that word. Someone who puts effort into losing complete bodily control. Someone who is willing to risk their health, their jobs, and in some instances their families for a singular week 8 regular season interconference football game. You know…someone who actually CARES about the game of professional football. Or in more succinct terms: if you ain’t peein’, then you ain’t tryin’, honey! I shall conclude my bizarre and somewhat nonsensical post with a (slightly paraphrased) quote from the very inspirational Marv Levy, who was quoting someone else who was probably great too: “Cheer on, my fellow Bills fans. We are drunk and can’t tell where from when. So we’ll sit in our seats and pee awhile, And then we’ll rise up and cheer again.” EDIT: And on that renal-related note, off I go to the ladies’ room…teeheehee : )

We’re already up to two! 1. Josh Allen (California cantaloupe farmer) 2. Von Miller (Texas chicken farmer)

Woah!!! Now THAT’S a name I haven’t heard in a long time…a long time. “Wisniowka”…a.k.a. “Polish medicinal fire water.” I’m totally digging Harry Smith’s energy, but he best be careful with that stuff during future sojourns in our lovely Western New York homeland. Two bowling balls in, and next thing you know ol’ Harry is grinding on Billy Buffalo, launching marital aids toward the endzone, libelously editing Nick Wright’s Wikipedia page from his phone, and canoodling with some Lancaster Lothario in the tailgating parking lot who has nothing but compliments for his Bambi eyes and sassy spirit that belies his mousy wallflower facade…and yet who magically disappears into the electromagnetic communication ether like some amorous Houdini following a confrontation over a secret middle school ex who keeps trying to reconnect. My point: be ready next time, Harry. And bring a coat. It might be chilly.

The activism of “Direct Action Everywhere” is meant to raise public awareness of animal cruelty in factory farms. We can disagree with the efficacy, legality, and morality of the group’s methods. But (presumably) without knowing members personally, none of us have any reason to believe their hearts aren’t in the right places: that is, with the animals. On the subject of factory farm ethics: Bills fans should listen to Von Miller speak about the free-range chicken farm he owns. He touches upon many of these issues whenever he talks about his chickens. The main takeaway here is that even omnivores can acknowledge the atrocities of factory farming and make choices in their personal lives that help minimize the senseless suffering of farm animals. In my opinion, persuading people you know to watch documentaries like this one is much more effective than randomly disrupting a football game with pink flares:

Large Feline Division: Bengals, Jags, Lions, Panthers Other Large Mammal Division: Colts, Broncos, Bears, Rams Avian Division: Ravens, Eagles, Falcons, Cardinals Seafaring Division: Dolphins, Vikings, Bucs, Seahawks Industrial Division: Jets, Steelers, Chargers, Packers Wild West Division: Texans, Raiders, Cowboys, 49ers Executive Division: Titans, Chiefs, Commanders, Giants Important Individuals Division: Bills, Patriots, Browns, Saints

Maybe, but I also really like Benford's long-term potential at safety. If White, Elam, and Taron Johnson are all healthy by November, then I'd look into moving Benford to FS opposite Poyer if Hamlin struggles at all and if Benford looks ready to handle the mental demands of Hyde's position. Xavier Rhodes at FS could be another option.

Nursery rhyme gore. Readers’ jaws drop to the floor. “Carnage they adore?!” Irv gets Buffalo. The urban decay, the snow… Fuels all we know: Murderous delight. We CRAVE a good football fight. A show of our might. Pro football we love. More fitting than O.J.’s glove. We’re all hawk. No dove. Fly south to the sea. The heat, the humidity. Sunday killing spree. Fate, grant us one wish: Whether mammals, whether fish, Their corpses go “SQUISH.” A seventh haiku?! Irv, it’s what I give to you: A poetry slew. Haiku number eight?! Buckle under my word weight. The Dolphins I hate. “Haiku number nine?!” Oh Irv…more cheese with your whine? I see no “STOP” sign. On to number ten?! Poetry violence zen. Quit now? Just say when. Head to eleven?? I’m up in haiku heaven! EL FIN…eleven.

You say toe-MAY-toe. And I might say toe-MAH-toe. Produce, just the same. Why don’t they say “TAG” When they begin with his name?? I don’t get the “TUNG.” Well…sometimes I do… But if it wasn’t wanted, A kick to the balls! NOT a haiku, Dan. Off the reservation now?? Stay within the lines! Wait…why so rigid? Variety is life’s spice! So indulge I will: There once was a quarterback named Ed. A Polish prince who wore royal blue with red. A roster Swiss Army knife You’ll recall from your early life On that ’68 Bills team filled with dread. It began in preseason when Jack went down, Raising fear in our beloved Lake Erie town. They called on you to save the day, Plus Tom, plus a guy who was named “Kay?!”, And ultimately Ed to win the AFL crown. You know how this limerick is going to end: To the eastern division basement we did descend. With Ed we posed no threats, Though at least we beat the Jets! If only Ralph had been more willing to spend…

Way to go, Dan D! A poor AFL QB… But a star poet! 1968 Was not a good year for you. Just being honest. But a new life now! Redemption through poetry On “Squish the Fish” week. Duly noted, Dan. But where’s your own haiku form? Above the law now?? Respect poetry. Syllable integrity. Exactly three lines. Step up your game, please. Less downloading porn at work. More online haikus. Filing a report… No creativity there. What the f*ck was that?! He made some good points. Though a bit too long-winded. Plus, his grammar sucks. Poetry and laws. Hand in hand the two must go. SUSPEND HIS ACCOUNT. I hate Tua T! Not just because of his team. It is his surname. Too many letters. Ugh. The pronunciation… Also the spelling… And throws worse than me! And not as cute as our Josh! Crappy and ugly…

Twenty straight losses. Do not forget history. Serve our revenge cold.

Yep, pretty much. Mitch McConnell understands the political calculus of the national abortion debate way better than Lindsey Graham. Mitch knows that the GOP’s position is completely indefensible**, so the less they bother to talk about it the better. Their winning gambit is to obfuscate on the issue of inflation (see: all of my previous posts on inflation) and combine it with a cultural “crisis” du jour such as drag queen story hour. It may very well work this Roevember, but the least dullardly of the MAGA simpletons quietly understand deep down that their political movement is trending toward a trainwreck by the end of this decade…with Dobbs as the train conductor. Commie Kay’s proof: a multitude of public opinion polls surveying Millenials and Gen Z’ers. “Demographics is destiny,” said someone. CHOO MOTHER BLEEPING CHOO. ** - A summary of why I think the GOP stance on abortion is indefensible: 1. The post-Dobbs abortion trigger laws in the red states are already enormously unpopular (to the tune of 67+%, judging by opinion polls). Moreover, they continue growing in unpopularity as more citizens become better informed on all the disgusting case studies in which these laws are shown to be negatively impacting women’s lives. 2. Even though I outlined a reasonable 7-point Roe v. Wade codification bill compromise on page 4 of this thread to which the GOP would still never agree, the best public policy (a.k.a. the one most hermetically sealed from political realities) is completely unrestricted abortion for all three trimesters. The main justifications for this are the enormous difficulties (logistically, legally, and psychologically) that come with verifying abortion exceptions for rape and i n c e s t. Essentially, it’s a matter of prioritizing the approximately 2% of rape/i n c e s t abortion cases over the approximately 2-3% of abortions beyond 15 weeks due to the collection of contentiously “frivolous” reasons (financial, career, education, relationship dissolution, YOLO jezebel lifestyle, etc). Or to perhaps put it more bluntly and more generally, it’s still just a matter of prioritizing living women over unborn embryos/fetuses. 3. American conservatives can’t point to Western Europe as equivalently restrictive on abortion. Those countries allow for “abortion on request,” despite whatever comparable limits during the gestation period they may legally specify. What this means is that no outside parties (doctors, government officials, etc.) in Western European countries are necessary to verify the qualifying exceptions given for the abortion request. The decision to abort is still ultimately in the control of the pregnant woman. 4. The Bible itself is fairly vague on the subject of abortion. You can find just as many passages that are nebulously pro-choice as you can find that are nebulously pro-life. Not that this should ever matter in the United States, however. I only bring it up for the non-secular humanists and non-existential nihilists among us. EDIT: Forgot about the silly "i n c e s t" filter.

The devil is in the details. It depends on how abortion exceptions are articulated in the bill and how difficult the exception confirmation process is for the woman, with the most sensitive exceptions being rape cases. While I haven’t read any details on the bill yet, I tend not to trust the Christian theocratic GOP when it comes to drafting any bill pertaining to women’s rights. But let’s also bear in mind a few basic facts here: 1. 15 weeks is much less than 24-28 weeks a.k.a. the point of fetal viability a.k.a. the delineation of Roe v. Wade. 2. Fewer than 10% of all performed abortions occur beyond 15 weeks, with most of these abortions related to the medical handling of miscarriages. 3. If you support this bill, then you are automatically conceding the “states’ rights” argument.

Kinda looks like Christina Ricci.

Yeah, but we also have the 31st ranked defense. I blame Tremaine Edmunds.

I guess I’m more sanguine than most other leftists regarding the Democrats’ chances of holding the House. I think the polls may be significantly undersampling Gen Z voters in a midterm election. Since this midterm is markedly different from others due to the Dobbs ruling, performance expectation benchmarks of a 220-215 Democratic House and a 52-48 Democratic Senate seem perfectly reasonable to me. An equally important focus, of course, must be on maintaining political pressure on the Democrats beyond the election. I hope my fellow Gen Z’ers understand this?! We need a federal codification of Roe v. Wade that protects the following: 1. All abortions during the non-viable embryonic/fetal development stage. 2. Medical waivers (general physical health of mother, miscarriage dilation/curettage or dilation/evacuation services, ectopic pregnancies, fetal abnormalities, any cryptic pregnancies and irregular pregnancies related to irregular periods and amenorrhea, etc.). 3. Psychological waivers (rape, i n c e s t, mental health of mother, etc.). 4. Logistics waivers for those stuck on abortion waitlists. 5. Full contraceptive access services. 6. Decriminalization of abortion for all fifty states (i.e. no murder charges allowed for mother or doctor). 7. No legal restrictions on interstate travel to seek abortions. AND IF the Supreme Court shoots down a Women’s Health Protection Act like this one (which would essentially be a violation of the Ninth Amendment and the due process clause in each of the Fifth and Fourteenth), then Gen Z needs to be ready to take to the streets and pressure our politicians for court packing. EDIT: Silly censored "i n c e st" word.

APOLOGIES TO EVERYONE for briefly hijacking the gun thread! I’m replying to posts that I forgot to address weeks ago: 1. Progressives love this country because it’s their home. It’s no more complicated than that. Calling people “America haters” if they disagree with your political opinions is childish and unproductive. Having said that, I can answer your question on a personal level: I like our popular culture, the melting pot nature of our demographics, our spirit of innovation and creativity, the geography, our Bill of Rights, and our federal system of checks and balances. 2. Progressives are ignorant on how the rest of the world works?? Progressive policies aren’t already implemented elsewhere?? Universal health care? Federally mandated living wages? Universal pre-k? Progressive tax codes? Community-owned grocery stores? Swiss non-interventionism? German labor movement? French energy infrastructure? Housing for the homeless in Finland? Drug war strategies in Portugal? Legal prostitution in the Netherlands? Social democracies and mixed economies in practically every major industrialized country in the Western Hemisphere??!! 3. While you seem quite confident in your own grasp of political issues, I vaguely recall a conversation of ours in the global warming thread last summer. I backed you into a debate corner where you admitted that you believe in a vast global conspiracy, involving everyone from climate scientists to the U.S. Navy, in which all the climate data is fabricated. Is my recollection correct? How did you think that conversation went for you?? How about replying to my post on the inflation topic (thread: “How much did you pay for gas and groceries today?,” top of page 15, June 10)? Share with the forum what you know on perhaps the most pressing political topic in the news these days. 4. Good for you for acknowledging the distinction between liberals and progressives! Most Americans don’t. This is a lot of material here…I’ll tackle as much as I can before my bedtime! 1. Definitions: I’ve been careful to use “classical liberalism” as a synonym for modern libertarianism and for advocacy of strict Constitutional constructionism. I don’t think I’ve been conflating classical liberalism with crony capitalism? The over-the-top extreme wealth disparities and wealth suppression naturally generated by economic libertarianism, however, do tend to corrode democracies so that they devolve into corporate oligarchies like the one in which we’re currently living. Classical liberalism always seems to lead to great social instability. Never mind modern (i.e. post-Age of Enlightenment/Industrial Revolution era) European history; the most prominent demonstration of this in American history was the economic volatility and strife of the Gilded Age that fueled Debs and the original American progressive movement of the early 1900’s. 2. Trust in Government: Classical liberals tend to play this game where they insist that government is hopelessly inefficient and incompetent, and then they proceed to elect politicians who do everything in their power to undermine said government services, thereby reinforcing their original point. Government is a necessity for a few vital goods and services: things like national defense, law and order, and firefighting. Progressives would add aspects of health care, education, and housing along with various market failure safeguards for labor exploitation and pollution and monopoly/oligopoly effects. Socialists would add at least a few more services, if not many more. I would hope everyone wants to work to keep government as streamlined and efficacious as possible with the minimum necessary safeguards, but I also don’t want to throw babies out with their bathwaters. As you probably figured, I’m not a fan of debates on negative rights vs. positive rights because it’s a totally meaningless distinction to me. 3. Perceived Failures of Progressivism: I’ve noticed how many Americans tend to blame progressives for government failures that are actually neoliberal in nature, not progressive...namely the economic ones. Remember how I argued that progressives don’t have much political power in the United States? We couldn’t even get a completely watered-down Build Back Better Act passed! The Biden administration has been neoliberal to the core since day one. But while I think our ideas are super awesome for the most part, some admittedly need to go back to the drawing board and/or need work on the messaging. I’ve already conceded some of the law-and-order issues to you. I won’t concede border control and economic protectionism to you because true progressivism isn’t about open borders and globalism; it’s about humane treatment of illegal immigrants and pro-worker policies. I can partly concede the “Cancel Student Debt” movement that you raised because that solution is WAY too simplistic. It ends up being unfair to many Americans who already paid off their college debt or who didn’t go to college, and it doesn’t address the root problems behind exploding college costs. From the perspective of macroeconomic growth, however, Millenial/Gen Z post-secondary educational debt is a gigantic drag on our economy. 4. Contemporary Failures of Classical Liberalism: I could go on and on about its flaws when it comes to solving modern macroeconomic problems, everything from fiscal policy to monetary policy. But in the interest of my waning time before bed, I’ll limit my complaining to the big one that is government spending (or rather, lack thereof) in the face of recessions. Let’s take the looming post-COVID recession as a case example. We know during the pandemic that the professional/managerial class (PMC) got wealthier and the working class got poorer. These are objective economic facts, colloquially known as the “Kay-shaped” recovery. Nevertheless, those who identify as classical liberals still argue that the rich are paying too much in taxes right now and the American social safety net is way too generous. The silliest ones even advocate for a flat tax. All of them would rather cool off inflation by having the Fed raise interest rates before ever entertaining the notion of raising taxes on the PMC. But raising interest rates will hit the working class disproportionately hard in the form of unemployment. The U.S. has a 70% consumer spending-based economy, but the very sizable working class won’t have the money to jumpstart it. And we know from recent history (going back to Reagan) that these prospective post-COVID tax cuts for the rich will just be redirected right into company stock buybacks and dividends, not investments in DOMESTIC jobs. 5. Future of Progressivism: There’s an ongoing civil war within the progressive movement between the social justice warrior coterie and the economic populist one. I think American progressivism has a bright future as long as the economic populists lead the conversations. The movement is doing extremely well with the under-40 crowd (demography is destiny, as they say!), but admittedly has stalled with Latinos and the male working class since 2016. My people (social democrats and greenies, plus any socialists and commies) need to collaborate and consolidate power like the lefties did in France recently under Jean-Luc Melenchon. I can see a nice path being paved forward for progressives to take over the Democratic Party and the country by the end of this decade. The path pavers here would be the rank incompetency of the Biden administration, the Manchin/Sinema legislative blockade, the Roberts court’s illegitimacy in the public’s eyes (from Citizens United v. FEC back in 2010 all the way to the upcoming Moore v. Harper case), and the massive social catalyst that is the Dobbs reversal of Roe and Casey. EDIT: Corrected a few obvious spelling/grammar errors.

I don’t disagree with anything you said here, ALF. It’s unfortunate that Republican voters think opening the floodgates on domestic fossil fuel supply will have a major effect on inflation and gas prices. A cursory look at U.S. fossil fuel import/export data from the past 5 years would shatter those hopes, as would a cursory look at international inflation and gas price data from the past 5 years. The lesson, in other words: our energy industry isn’t nationalized, and fossil fuel prices are subject to international supply/demand forces. Yet another GOP inflation talking point that should be dispelled by election season (but won’t) is the notion that excess government spending and increased spending agency among the labor market are major contributing factors. We can look at 5-year national/international data on federal budgets, consumer spending, wage growth, and inflation to figure out that these aren’t good explanations, either. And the observed spending spikes in 2020 were necessary to prevent a dangerous deflationary cycle. At the moment, natural gas is about 30% of our total domestic energy consumption. You don’t think we could get that number down to 20% by ~2035 and 5% by 2050 if we relied on nuclear? That would be three decades worth of preparation! Almost all of the effort would come in the simple form of preventing new public land sales for fracking. Every employee who recently joined the natural gas industry would still have the opportunity to finish their careers in it if they so choose. “Libs” are slowly changing their minds on nuclear. I’m seeing it! It’s true, though, that “cons” are historically more favorable to it. Yet another reason why I’m so pro-nuclear is because it lends itself better to political compromise than any of our other energy options.

Certainly not me. What’s our current debt-to-GDP ratio? ~130%? $30.5 trillion debt divided by $23 trillion annual GDP? I’d like to see us work that number down to sub-60% by mid-century, in anticipation of the eventual petrodollar collapse and a possible end to our world reserve currency supremacy. Trust me, I’m far from a mindless MMT disciple! I only brought it up to make the point that halting progress with something as critical as renewable energy infrastructure because of uber-rigid fiscal austerity measures is irrational. I would first cut into the ridiculously bloated military budget before anything else, in the range of a 25-33% reduction. Next, I would raise the highest marginal tax rate to 45-50% (most demand-siders say it should be 65-70% for optimal macroeconomic growth…) while closing certain tax loopholes and raising Wall Street speculation taxes. If we still need to find more energy infrastructure revenue somewhere, then we can have an exhaustive bipartisan evaluation committee on wasteful government programs. And if we still need more, then as our next resort we can turn to MMT economic guidance and relax our debt reduction benchmarks. Yeah, I kinda noticed the condescension. I’m an engineer as well (biomedical background, a bit of research experience in nanotech and materials physics and E+M waveguides, math training at level of a standard ABD experimental physicist), so I’d rather you not treat me like some ditzy far-left Pollyana-ish renewables fangirl. Oh and that’s another thing: I’m a female, so please don’t call me a “dude.” I’m also not your “pal” because I don’t know you personally. Finally, I did not appreciate the “Star Wars movies” comment. If you were to re-read my post, I openly acknowledged that practical superconductors were “pie-in-the-sky” for the next few decades. I wouldn’t say never, however, as you have suggested. Until the mechanism that explains high-temperature/non-BCS superconductivity is well-understood, there’s no definitive physics-based reason why room-temperature superconductors are impossible. With all those unpleasantries now out of the way, let’s talk electrical power. You may have laughed at my guess in costs, but we also failed to outline some basic assumptions and specifications to make any cost estimates meaningful. Using your expertise in this subject matter, maybe we can put together a sensible back-of-envelope determination of a TOTAL price tag that taxpayers could expect for a FULL 21st century electrical grid upgrade?? Assumptions: construction timeframe of 25 years (2025-2049), full eventual transmission/distribution line replacements, no new line networking (or is that too rough of an assumption?), using only current technology, nuclear fission power generation (but we’ll keep this cost separate because I’m only interested in the power grid’s network upgrades), ~350 million EV’s in circulation to be serviced by 2050 (FYI we’re currently at about 280 million total cars in the U.S.), 80% of all vehicles on road to be EV’s by 2050, expected 50% of all new car sales to be EV’s by 2035 and 75% by 2040 and 100% by 2045. Now with those general assumptions in mind, here’s where I’m hoping you can fill me in: 1. Transmission lines (material costs, factory processing, special supply chain finagling): $??? billion 2. Distribution lines (material costs, factory processing, special supply chain finagling): $? trillion 3. Public charging stations, power substations, step-up/step-down transformers: $?? billion 4. Government-funded labor training and utility installation work payroll: $??? billion 5. Government funding for research and design: $??? million If we add these 5 numbers up, what might that total be? Say, ~$3 trillion?? That would average out to be $120 billion per year from 2025-2049, or perhaps we front-load it to be $300 billion per year from 2025-2034. No biggie! I would take that out of our defense budget without hesitation. You could then raise Wall Street speculation taxes to pay for the nuclear fission power component of the electrical power grid renovations.

To address your first two questions: I would guess about $150 billion total over the next 10 years. Is that correct? And do you know what the ANNUAL military budget is? Something around $750-800 billion and rising, I believe. And don’t forget that the highest of the seven income brackets is at only 37%. And don’t forget MMT options, either, for those non-libertarians who properly understand that federal debt is not the same as personal household debt. Like I’ve said all along…the main problem is a lack of political willpower, not technology or cost. Your third question: No, I don’t know anything about the status of U.S. transmission/distribution line workers. If there is a labor shortage, then that sounds like the impetus for a good old-fashioned public works project! Yay! Keynesian economic solutions FTW! Your last question: No, I don’t know the supply chain status for transmission line materials. Are you referring to steel? Copper? Aluminum? There are actions the private market and/or government can take over the next 10+ years to smooth out material supply chain networks. I seriously doubt the situation is hopeless. I would also be remiss to not mention here that transmission/distribution line materials are an active area of research in nanotech and strongly correlated electron system physics. Inexpensive ceramic superconductors that operate in the 250-300 Kelvin range would be considered their holy grail, I suppose, albeit way too pie-in-the-sky for a timeline of three decades. In the meantime, materials scientists and engineers still have a fair amount of unexplored geometrical leeway for making practical power loss reductions in ohmic and dielectric heating. Your last paragraph: you said that 70% of our electrical power grid is 25+ years old. So if the infrastructure is long overdue for an upgrade, might as well do it now and do it right this time (i.e. build it so that it is ready to accommodate a 21st century future replete with renewables).